Gorgeous – 88 Films (Blu-ray)

Theatrical Release Date: Hong Kong, 1999
Director: Vincent Kok
Writers: Jackie Chan, Vincent Kok, Yiu Fai Lo
Cast: Jackie Chan, Shu Qi, Tony Leung Chiu-wai, Wakin Chau, Emil Chau, Bradley James Allan, Tats Lau

Release Date: March 27th, 2023 (UK), April 11th, 2023 (USA)
Approximate running times: 119 Minutes 40 Seconds (Hong Kong Theatrical Cut), 99 Minutes 20 Seconds (International Theatrical Cut)
Aspect Ratio: 2.35:1 Widescreen / 1080 Progressive / MPEG-4 AVC (Both Versions)
Rating: PG (UK), NR (USA)
Sound: DTS-HD 5.1 Cantonese (Both Versions), DTS-HD 5.1 English (International Theatrical Cut)
Subtitles: English (Both Versions)
Region Coding: Region A,B
Retail Price: £19.99 (UK), $34.95 (USA)

"Young and beautiful Bu (Shu Qi, The Transporter) finds a romantic message in a bottle near her family restaurant in Taiwan. On a whim, she flies to Hong Kong to meet her potential soul mate, who turns out to be Albert (Tony Leung, Infernal Affairs), a gay beautician pining for his ex. Taking pity on the girl, he brings her to his workplace, where she falls for the wealthy and lonely C.N. Chan (Jackie Chan, Rush Hour, Supercop). But when Chan's lifelong enemy, Lo, discovers Chan has a new love, he decides to ruin their happiness." - synopsis provided by the distributor

Video: 4.25/5 (Hong Kong Theatrical Cut, International Theatrical Cut)

Here’s the information provided about the transfer, "2K Transfers from Original Film Materials of the Hong Kong & International versions of the film."

Gorgeous comes on a 50 GB dual layer Blu-ray.

Disc Size: 46.2 GB

Feature: 21.5 GB (Hong Kong Theatrical Cut), 19.6 GB (International Theatrical Cut)

The sources for the two versions are comparable. And though they are in great shape, there are some very minor instances of white flecks. Colors and flesh tones look correct; image clarity, black levels, and compression are solid.

Audio: 4.5/5 (DTS-HD 5.1 Cantonese, DTS-HD 5.1 English)

The Hong Kong theatrical cut comes with one audio option, a DTS-HD 5.1 mix in Cantonese, and included are removable English subtitles.

The international theatrical cut has two audio options, a DTS-HD 5.1 mix in Cantonese and a DTS-HD 5.1 mix in English. Included are removable English subtitles for the Cantonese language track and a second removable English subtitle track for a song that is in Cantonese when watching the English language track.

Quality-wise, the differences between the audio mixes are minimal. Dialog comes through clearly, everything sounds balanced, and fight sequences sound appropriately robust.

Extras:

Extras for this release include English language theatrical trailer (1 minute 32 seconds, Dolby Digital stereo English, no subtitles), Hong Kong theatrical trailer (2 minutes 4 seconds, Dolby Digital stereo Cantonese with removable English subtitles), music video 1 (4 minutes 7 seconds, Dolby Digital stereo Cantonese, no subtitles), music video 2 (4 minutes 7 seconds, Dolby Digital stereo Cantonese, no subtitles), an archival featurette titled The Making of Gorgeous (30 minutes 3 seconds, Dolby Digital stereo Cantonese with removable English subtitles), an interview with director Vincent Kok titled Boxing Day (23 minutes 54 seconds, Dolby Digital stereo English, no subtitles), an interview stuntman Andy Cheng who discusses stuntman/actor Brad Allan titled Shy Guy (17 minutes 1 second, Dolby Digital stereo English, no subtitles), an audio commentary with Frank Djeng and FJ Desanto for the Hong Kong theatrical cut, an audio commentary with action experts Mike Leeder and Arne Venema for the Hong Kong theatrical cut, an audio commentary with actor Jackie Chan, in English for the international theatrical cut, reversible cover art, A3 folded travel poster (limited to first pressing), O-Ring slipcase (limited to first pressing), and a 34-page booklet (limited to first pressing) with on set recollections titled The Accidental Spy: Istanbul Set Visit written by Matthew Edwards.

Summary:

Though there have been a few films throughout his career where Jackie Chan (Drunken Master) stepped out of his comfort zone, Notably a film like Heart of the Dragon. He would not venture into the romantic comedy genre until Gorgeous.

Sure, throughout his career, Jackie Chan’s characters had had romantic interests. Unfortunately, most of them were relegated to secondary characters who never really flourished. That was until Gorgeous paired up Jackie Chan with Shu Qui (So Close). In Gorgeous, she would portray Bu, a character who actually gets the majority of the screen time. And her performance as a young woman whose yearning for the man of her dreams is phenomenal.

The premise is a fish out of water scenario where a small town girl from Taiwan goes to Hong Kong after finding a message in a bottle. From there, she searches for the man who sent it, only to discover that she was not the intended recipient of the message. Determined to find love, she stays in Hong Kong looking for her dream man.

Besides Jackie Chan and Shu Qi, there is a solid supporting cast, all of whom are great in their roles. Notably, Tony Leung Chiu-wai (Bullet in the Head) played Albert, a lonely gay man who sent the note that was in the bottle found by Bu. Also, there are several recognizable faces, many whose roles only amount to cameos, notably Stephen Chow (Shaolin Soccer) in the role of a Hong Kong police officer.

When discussing Jackie Chan’s films, one is always drawn to his explosive and inventive fight sequences. And though Gorgeous does not have as many fight sequences as one would expect from a Jackie Chan film, What fight sequences there are are exceptional. Notably, there are two boxing or martial arts sequences between Jackie Chan and Brad Allen.

From its opening moments right on through to its heartwarming finale The narrative does a fantastic job keeping things moving forward by giving key moments ample time to resonate. Ultimately, Gorgeous is a very satisfying blend of romance,  humor, and action.

Gorgeous gets a solid release from 88 Films that comes with a strong audio/video presentation, two versions of the film, and an abundance of informative extras, highly recommended.

 Written by Michael Den Boer